Community gardens offer space for those who love to garden but might not have their own

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Community gardens provide space for those who
have the green thumb, but lack their own gardens
By: Madi Schulz | @Mad_Dawgg | Posted: Monday, July 13, 2015 7:00 am
Someone new to Lawrence would immediately notice the
University of Kansas’ influence, Massachusetts Street’s
charm and the man who stands on the street corner with
the “Honk for Hemp” sign.
What they might not learn from driving around is the
value the community holds for many individuals in
Lawrence, an aspect that’s increasing community gardens’
popularity.
“It’s kind of getting out and helping plant yourself in the
community, as much as planting a plant in your garden,”
said Aimee Polson, project coordinator for the Garden
Incubator at Seventh and Walnut Streets.
Polson said she sees the various benefits of community
gardens.
“I think it’s just getting out and partnering up with other people, […] getting your frustrations out by
digging, or just sharing experiences and seeing what other people do,” said Polson, who received her
master’s degree in urban planning from Kansas State University. “[The garden] is kind of a nice escape
from your own house or your family in some instances.”
Since 2012 when the city of Lawrence introduced the Common Ground program — with the goal of
turning unutilized spaces into sites where citizens could grow their own healthy food — community
gardens have popped up all over the city.
On July 11 and 12, the Kansas Permaculture collaborative included a permaculture community garden in
its sixth annual Permaculture Urban Garden and Farm tour.
The Garden Incubator offers various plots that can be rented for $20 to $70 for one year but also has
areas that volunteers can garden, as well as a children’s garden. It also features a micro-farm with three
different farming groups: hops, traditional vegetables and various types of flowers.
Community Garden1
Laura Odell, the permaculture adviser at
PermaCommons, picks diseased leaves off
a plant to prevent a disease from spreading.

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Once someone is in charge of a plot, it is solely up to them to take care of their crops the for remainder of
their time.
Polson said she sees the wide variety of benefits in a community garden, aside from the obvious need for
gardening space.
One of the main issues Polson sees in the garden — aside from the standard weeds — is theft, but she
said she has plans to keep the garden open, gate- and lock-free.
“I think [putting locks and gates up] kind of sets the wrong tone, especially since we’re on city-owned
land,” Polson said.
Polson has seen vegetables and fruits stolen from the various plots. In one recent incident she found
flowers from the garden in zip-close bags nearby. Polson said one solution to this problem is more
signage throughout the garden, which will deter those who accidentally pick in the wrong areas.
Lawrence also offers a community orchard — the Lawrence Fruit Tree Orchard — located on a third of
an acre on the 800 block of Garfield Street.
The orchard, which volunteers began planting in March 2012, offers a wide variety of fruits that might
not be familiar to the average Kansas gardener. Some of these include jujube, goumi, American
persimmon, paw paw and hybrid hazelnuts, said Project Coordinator Skyler Adamson. The orchard is
also home to familiar fruit trees such as apple, European pear and tart cherries.
“Anyone can come pick sample size portions of the fruit,” Adamson said. “We also have volunteer work
days at least once a month. Anyone is welcome — people of all different ages and skill levels.”
The community garden located at 1304 Pennsylvania St., charges a $25 membership fee, but instead of
individual plots, it is more focused on keeping up the garden as a community.
Cody Wingfield, project coordinator in his second year of membership at the Pennsylvania Street garden,
lives in an apartment and was looking for a way to get outdoors when he discovered the community
garden.
“Before I found out about the program I was just doing the random search online and I stumbled upon the
city’s program, and when I found it it was basically love at first sight,” he said.
The goal of the garden is to teach its members permaculture principles, which use natural features of a
garden for self-containment and self-sustainability, said Laura Odell, permaculture adviser for the garden.
There are no pesticides used, and the watering is done largely from rain runoff. Four 500-gallon rainwater
catchment barrels assist by distributing the water around the garden through attached hoses. Members can
learn about disease identification, pest management, crop rotation and any skills needed to maintain a

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permaculture garden.
Odell said she became interested in permaculture when she was pregnant with her son and became hyper-
aware of the environment.
“What we put in our bodies ultimately determines our own health and so I started teaching myself
organic gardening,” she said.
Odell eventually received her permaculture certification in a 72-hour class from Kaw Permaculture under
her mentor, Steve Moring, who also teaches permaculture design at the University.
In the class, students take workshops in permaculture design and learn about organic crop rotation,
among other things. This certification gives Odell the ability to plant effective permaculture gardens that
follow specific principles, as taught in the course.
“A primary purpose of permaculture is to build up soil fertility; we’re using all organic controls so the
health of the soil will determine the health of the plant,” Odell said.
Common Ground community gardens are always looking for volunteers and members. A list of
community gardens and contact information for project coordinators can be found on the City of
Lawrence website.
Steve Moring, a lecturer in the environmental studies program, could not be reached for comment.